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Cyantific experiments with drum and bass

British DJ plays at Tommy Africa's on Jan. 10
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First Whistler gig Making music and winning at Christmas, DJ Cyantific performs here following a big NYE show in California. Photo submitted

British DJ Cyantific, a.k.a. Jon Stanley, is coming to Whistler, part of a tiny tour of just four shows in Canada and the U.S., including a big New Year's Eve bash in California.

That's a rather exclusive stretch of gigs.

"It's pretty short, but it's good," he says over the phone from London.

"I've never performed in Whistler. All I know about it is that one of my good friends I grew up with did a season there. He loved it. He said only the good stuff."

Told that Whistler had been making us proud in terms of snowfall this season, Cyantific is happy.

"That's really great. I did a show in the Austrian Alps two weeks ago and there is no snow there at all. All the ski resorts are suffering a bit this year. It's really warm," he says.

Cyantific spent the Christmas break mostly not shopping for other adults, thanks to the civilized family decision that company was the greatest gift to give. There were children to buy for, of course, but he didn't let that get him down.

"It is actually quite funny seeing all the desperate mainly young men looking really worried, running around on Christmas Eve," he says.They could do it in July, throw it in the back of a closet and forget about it, I say."Or online," he replies. "I did that one year and everything was done by the end of November. I was like, 'Yes! I won at Christmas!'"

Cyantific's sound is described as experimental drum and bass, and he has been at the front of the scene for over a decade.

Known for devotion to his decks, pinpoint accuracy in the mix and his ability to construct dance floor anthems has meant he has performed around the globe. In 2006, he released his debut album Ghetto Blaster and was named the BBC 1Xtra Best Newcomer DJ award in 2007.

At the moment, he is wrapping up a stretch of studio work and on his return from North America he has to finish off his next single.

"It's busy studio time at the moment, but it's better than not being busy," he says.

He concentrates on output, both as a DJ-producer and as a composer.

"I pretty much treat it as nine-to-five, five days a week, and I'm usually out at the weekends, DJing. It's like having two jobs at once, they are so different even though they are massively interlinked," Cyantific says.

He laughs at the idea that it's like being a musical Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

"One is travelling and playing a party all that kind of stuff, and the other is sitting in a room on your own, listening to the same thing over and over," he says.

"People see the public side of you, but they don't realize that we're all nerds. We're locked away in dark rooms.

"When you have a run of good shows, you can't wait for the next weekend and you really want to go out and get that instant gratification from DJing. But in the long term... I can't really pick, I'm definitely sitting on the fence there."

"Out of Time" is his next single, due for release at the end of January. It will be part of a new 2016 album.

"Everything from last August on will be part of it. All the A-sides of the singles are considered part of the album; we'll just pick the best ones. You don't want to put out the same tunes again and fill out an album with them. People want new music as well," he says.

"I like the single but we'll have to see if it makes the grade. It was ready to go and the label said, 'let's just press the button now.'"

Cyantific is performing at the Whistler Junglists night at Tommy Africa's on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door, and can be purchased online at www.whistlerjunglists.com.